Quigley seeking $2M for Arlington Heights to help the village comply with lead water line replacements

Arlington Heights may get financial help from the federal government to help the village meet mandates on replacing all lead water service lines, after U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley asked Congress for the funding.

Arlington Heights Village Manager Randy Recklaus told Pioneer Press that officials are still in the process of identifying other funding sources for the Lead Service Line Replacement Project.

“We’re speaking to our other representatives both at the state and federal level. We’re also looking at all of our options locally to fund this. It’s a mandate from federal and state governments. It’s something we weren’t expecting,” Recklaus said.

In the meantime, though, Quigley, a Chicago Democrat whose 5th Congressional District includes Arlington Heights, chose the northwest suburb’s Lead Service Line Replacement Project as one of 15 projects he submitted for funding consideration for fiscal year 2025. The federal government’s fiscal year runs Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

According to a news release from Quigley’s congressional office, the $31.5 million that the congressman requested in total for 5th District projects includes $2 million to help Arlington Heights comply with Illinois law, which requires replacement of all lead water service lines within the village.

“It is estimated that the new mandate will require the village to reallocate approximately $52 million in the next 13 years, based on today’s costs,” Arlington Heights Mayor Thomas Hayes stated in the release.

Hayes explained in the release that new state and federal lead service line replacement mandates will put a hefty financial burden on the village.

“The financial impact of this mandated time line has the sincere potential to disrupt vital infrastructure projects that support our more than 77,000 residents, and successful business and development districts,” Hayes stated in the release.

According to the village manager, the state Lead Service Line Replacement and Notification Act, which went into effect in 2022, mandated that a complete material inventory of service lines in the community water supply be submitted to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in 2024.

Recklaus explained that federal guidelines, which are expected to be finalized around October, could mandate a deadline of 2037.

“That’s why we have to update our numbers and come up with more aggressive plans. Otherwise, it really forces us to push off projects we’ve planned,” Recklaus said.

According to the release from Quigley’s office, current estimates put the total cost of complying with the mandate far outside the village’s budget, and contractors will be forced to escalate pricing to manage demands as the mandates become more stringent.

The project will help shoulder the burden of the cost and enable the village to effectively remove the risk of lead exposure from lead water service lines, the release states.

“No one knows their community’s needs better than the member who represents it. Those needs are constantly evolving and often need extra help to successfully cross the finish line,” Quigley stated in the release.

Recklaus said the $2 million requested by Quigley – who is also a member of the House Committee on Appropriations and ranking member of the subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development – will help replace lead service lines as needed.

“We’re already beginning to replace them. Some of that work we are doing in-house, some of it we’re going to contract, and some of it we’ll work with property owners on cost sharing on how those lines will be replaced,” said Recklaus, explaining that the village’s Public Works Department handles in-house work.

According to Recklaus, part of the village’s fiscal year 2023 general fund surplus was used to replace approximately 100 lead service lines last year, and the village aims to replace about 100 yearly along with others that are replaced through the village’s Water Main Replacement Program.

“Funding from Congressman Quigley’s 15 community funding projects for FY25 will be paramount in helping to keep the village of Arlington Heights on track with capital improvement projects and will have a lasting impact for decades to come,” the mayor stated in the release.

Further, Recklaus explained to Pioneer Press that the village has 18,538 residential services and approximately 4,200 known lead service lines.

Although approximately 23% of Arlington Heights’ water system has some kind of lead service line, Recklaus stressed that the water is safe.

“The village’s water system is tested regularly. We follow all the best practices in terms of our service lines,” Recklaus said. “It’s treated in a way that minimizes the lead so there’s no danger to our residents.”

Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer.